Fall Fun

Saturday we headed out to Sauvie Island to the Pumpkin Patch! It was a beautiful day and also a Saturday so we were in quite a crowd. They had a few tractors making runs out to the pumpkins so we didn't have to wait long to search for the perfect pumpkins.

Drew and Mason hiked around the field with Paul looking for just the right pumpkin to call their own. Darcy and I stayed in our little area since she STILL isn't walking! Holy cow, girl! You are 15+ months old! Get a move on! So she crawled around in the pokey field and probably hated every minute of it. Sorry Darcy, its your own fault!

She looks extremely thrilled as you can see. We were able to find pumpkins for everyone, navigate the kids' maze, and climb the hay pyramid and laugh as Drew tried to give Mason a boost and then jump for the top herself. Paul eventually gave in and helped them up. It was pretty funny though. Drew saw the "Field of Screams" entrance and thought she would like to visit a haunted house this year. This from the girl who woke me up last night because she had a bad dream about her stuffed hippo. Not gonna happen Drew. She's a bigger scaredy cat than I am.

Our porch is now being guarded by 5 orange spheres. Too bad they weren't there a few nights ago when someone tried to get into the house. I woke up at 3am to knocking on the back of the house and then the sounds of someone trying to open the sliding door. I was pretty well knocked out so I didn't realize what was going on really until I heard a knock at the front door and the sound of the doorknob being turned. I was so scared! I just laid there and tried to be as quiet as possible, but of course I had to use the potty so I was stealthily crawling to the bathroom to avoid the huge window we have there. The thought didn't even cross my mind to call the police till about a half hour later. I finally fell asleep and dreamed an appliance delivery guy was delivering ugly cream colored appliances at 3am and Paul said we had to keep them. I need to work on my emergency management skills I guess.

The major rash I talked about in my last post has finally gone away I think. I only had to use my medicine for 5 days thankfully. I still am pretty itchy but it is much more manageable than before with the rash. I still have no idea what caused it.

Here is my young Jedi after a long day of fighting the dark side. Even though he is the dark side, literally! This poor costume is on Mason's body morning, noon, and, night. Luckily we haven't had any major accidents with the light saber yet.

Drew is doing great at school. She comes home with those darn Mustang Award stickers a couple times a week. She says its for standing quietly with her hands to herself in line, or on the rug at reading time. I am proud of her but also wish she would live a little! Jeez girl, cause some mischief! I was a little brown noser/teacher's pet when I was her age and I remember how some kids used to make fun of me. I guess I shouldn't fault her for her obedience, and I should enjoy it with this kid because I can pretty much guarantee her little brother will not be receiving the awards quite as often! But, that's what makes life fun I guess.

FRUSTRATION!

For the past 4+ weeks I have been SUFFERING through a horrible rash. I contemplated posting pictures but decided no one really wants to see that. Just picture your entire upper body (neck and arms included) broken out in such a dense, red rash that it looks like the worst sun burn of your life. That was me. Now imagine the worst itching you have ever experienced, multiply it by ten, and the fact that there is no satisfying the itch, and there you have my life for the past month. AHHHHHH!!!!! My OB scared the life out of me by suggesting it was my liver malfunctioning, which can lead to serious complications or even stillbirth. So for a week I was freaking out about it, waiting for the call from my doctor on my blood test, until I had finally had enough and called them to find out the results, which were thankfully negative. But I still itched! I saw a dermatologist who took a look at me for 2 seconds, wouldn't listen to a word I had to say, and diagnosed it as being allergic to something I wasn't allergic to before. Use this expensive lotion, throw out all products at home and get all new stuff. And use this steroid cream even though you are pregnant. Can you tell I am not thrilled with my doctors at this point? I left his office sobbing. I went to Wal Mart to get the prescription filled, sat there for 45 minutes, asked 3 times if it was ready, and finally a lady pokes her head around the corner, "Oh, didn't anyone tell you? We don't have enough of the product so we have to order more. Come back tomorrow." AHHHHHHH!!!!!! I left the store sobbing. The next day I finally got my prescription at 4 and the pharmacist practically screamed at me not to use the product because I am pregnant. I left the store sobbing once again. After a call to my OB's office and my sister who had been on steroids her whole pregnancy, I felt that I could safely use the product if I use it sparingly. That night though, I gave Benadryl a try to see if it really was an allergic reaction. Nope! I woke up itching and sobbing for 2.5 hours because I couldn't get back to sleep. That was par for the course for many nights actually. For the past 3 days now I have been using the ointment and the major redness has gone away but the underlying itch is still there. I don't know what happens when I stop using the ointment, hopefully soon, but I do know I can't survive 17 more weeks of this horror. My poor kids and husband already had to deal with a cranky pregnant mom/wife, and this has just been a hundred times worse. Sorry guys! And I have been a hermit, much more than usual ;), because I can't move without wanting to rip my skin off and run screaming away! Hopefully things will settle down now that the major rash is being taken care of. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions I will gladly listen to them. They ruled out the most common pregnancy rash, PUPPP, so we have no idea what this is. Hopefully this too shall pass and I can look back and laugh about it (yah right) but I wouldn't wish this condition on my worst enemy.